Monster quake on Mars to provide view into planet like no other

Since landing a seismometer on Mars in 2018, scientists have been waiting for a big quake, and now researchers say theyve finally recorded a monster one. NASAs InSight Mars lander detected a magnitude 5 temblor on May 4.

During its few short years on the Martian planet, InSights seismometer has detected more than 1,300 quakes.

Since we set our seismometer down in December 2018, weve been waiting for the big one,'saidBruce Banerdt, InSights principal investigator at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the mission.

A magnitude 5 quake is a medium-size event compared to earthquakes felt on Earth.

Andrew Good also with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory says that there are similarities with the quakes felt on both Mars and Earth.

The magnitude scale we use for Mars is calibrated to be as equivalent as possible to the seismic movement between Earth and Mars, Good said.

Good and his team says that this is close to what they hoped to see on Mars during Insights mission.

The highly sensitive seismometer was taken to study the planets deep interior.

Scientists say the seismic waves pass through or reflect material in Mars crust, mantle, and core. They change in ways that seismologists can study to determine the depth and composition of these layers. Doing so will help them better understand the formation of all rocky worlds.

This quake is sure to provide a view into the planet like no other. Scientists will be analyzing this data to learn new things about Mars for years to come, Banerdt said.

Even though InSights mission wasextended until the end of the year, NASA says that it is unlikely to continue operations through the extension because of dust accumulation on its solar panels.

Mars is the only planet besides Earth, where NASA has an active seismometer recording quakes.

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Monster quake on Mars to provide view into planet like no other